Tag Archives: At the Library

The city of Helsinki has approved plans to build a library unlike any other. More like a library complex, this 98 million euro building will include a movie theater, restaurant, cafes, workshop and activity spaces, and yes, a sauna! The building will be located in the center of the city, and construction will begin in 2016, with the doors set to open in 2018.

This library project is yet another example of the trend in which modern libraries are becoming community centers, areas in which many services are provided under the umbrella of a library space.

What do you all think? Is this what libraries must do to remain relevant?

Do you love to bake and cook, but have no cash to buy specialty appliances or room to store them? Look no further than the Kitchen Library in Toronto, a non-profit started by Dayna Boyer, a Canadian food enthusiast. “There’s a whole revolution happening around home cooking and being in charge of what goes into your food,” explains Boyer.

The Kitchen Library is open 4 days a week to anyone over 18. Members must pay an annual fee of $50, and can check out items for 3-5 days (depending upon the appliance). Items range from canners to bread and pasta makers; juicers to chocolate fountains. If items are returned broken, the annual member fees generate enough money to fix or replace them. There are also fees for lateness, which run from $1-5 a day.

The Kitchen Library does have its critics. “I think it’s a bad idea from a design standpoint because everything in the kitchen is designed around the appliances,” said Vince Felicitta, the owner of Brown Felicitta Design. “You can’t design properly if the appliances are constantly changing.”

In any case, the emergence of such non-profits as the Kitchen Library is an interesting and growing trend, one that signifies a change in how we relate to space and to objects. While from a design standpoint I can understand the necessity of permanent fixtures, from a financial and social standpoint I think that projects like the Kitchen Library may be where the future is heading. Thoughts?

Sometimes when I say that I work at a library, people are surpised when we get talking about all the things the library has available. “You have more than books?” is a fairly common question. And happily the answer is of course!

At our libraries, we offer passes to local museums, computer classes (for free, of course), bi-monthly movies, meeting rooms available to be booked in advance, two book clubs, and more. Come see for yourself!

For the full list of interesting not-just-book things available at libraries around the U.S., check out this great compilation from USNews.